lsc maxim

[poridge]

hey guys

 

my school recently purchased an lsc maxim lighting desk, we have used this many times for manual shows but when it comes to programing it is a nightmare. would anybody out there be willing to explain to me how to program 4 movers through this desk? if not could you perhaps suggest some software to use through a laptop and interface? thanks guys

[Mr_Jules]

We're going to need a lot more information -

Which exact model of desk are you using?

What movers are you using?

Have you addressed and patched them correctly so that you have control over them?

Can you access them via the PATPAD?

 

In other words give us everything you've done and we'll try and help you from there on. Also RTFM

[poridge]

after looking at the options I have come to the conclusion it would be better for me to buy a DMX-usb interface thanks for the help anyway. I will be posting another topic on the interface thanks again

[Davethsparky]

after looking at the options I have come to the conclusion it would be better for me to buy a DMX-usb interface thanks for the help anyway. I will be posting another topic on the interface thanks again

 

 

Wait a minute, You have a brand new lighting desk but are now going to buy an interface and control your lights from a pc with a keyboard and mouse as opposed to the brand new machine designed specifically for the job?

Surely there was training bundled with the desk, or at least a deal agreed with the supplier to provide training on the desk?

 

I don't know the desk personally but I'm guessing it must be easy to use since someone saw fit to specify it for a school?

[tokm]

Surely there was training bundled with the desk, or at least a deal agreed with the supplier to provide training on the desk?

From reading some of the posts on here (BR in general) and the few experience's I've had doing show's at schools, that's very wishful thinking. The kits often put in and left to the teachers/students to work out. Only seems to be that schools with a paid-tech or has a member of staff who's clue'd up on technical theatre are the one who get the training.. why? Because the thought of getting some training usually doesn't seem to usually enter the minds of the person making the decisions!

 

I don't know the desk personally but I'm guessing it must be easy to use since someone saw fit to specify it for a school?

They spec'd an LSC desk for a school.. that alone should tell you something about the person who spec'd the desk/install! :) Not a bad desk, just a bad choice for a school. There's a reason simple desks like frogs are the usual choice!

 

Back on topic though.. as Mr_Jules said, your going to need to tell us what model you've got before we can help. Though to second the rest of the advice too, the manuals the best place to start. Do you have the ML's available to practise programming with before the production? If not.. maybe you shouldn't bother with ML's for this one, it'll be a pretty steep learning curve and not to be rude, will likely look less than great, due to you having been chucked in at the deep end with no time to get to grips with it all.

 

But I digress..

 

T

[Shez]

There's a Maxim at one of the venues I regularly work at; it's great for generics but I've not done much with the patpad on it. From what I can gather from one of the other staff there, it's pretty logical but a little different in its approach to other common desks. I seem to recall that LSC produce a training CD for it that takes you through all the operations. I'd suggest getting hold of that - it's a lot easier to run everything together from one desk than to have multiple systems to program and operate.

[peternewman]

Its probably worth getting in touch with Shock Solutions, as I believe (although I'm not certain), that they are the UK distributor for LSC, they certainly work with LSC quite a bit.

[poridge]

thanks for the advice, will get more info soon

[sirrus]

LSC released a series of videos, showing you exactly on how to program this desk.

 

 

You can order a cd with the videos on (mine took like a month to get to me, go figure)

 

Nicely though somone at LSC uploaded them to youtube ... ah la link: http://www.youtube.com/user/LSCLightingSystems

 

 

I suppose as the company is based in Austraillia... And the MaXim is a bit 'differnet' in its methods.

[dubhain]

I just recently used a Maxin 36/72 for the first time to run a show. Time constraints prevented me from fully being able to learn all the intricacies of the board, however, I found the quick reference available on their website very useful (http://www.lsclighting.com/help-centre/downloads?func=select&id=1). You can download the full manual too, if you really want to.

 

It even saved me when I accidentally removed 6 elations from the soft patching, and let me quickly repatch them all back in a matter of seconds (with full patching into the PatPad).

 

The instructions can appear not to make much sense when reading them, but have faith and follow them correctly, and you will find them easy enough to use before too long.

 

Steve

[Andy_Hook]

Although we're not the 'distributor' for LSC as Peter suggested (contact White Light for that), we do work very closely with LSC and can offer any advice/training you need on the Maxim. Feel free to drop me an e-mail (andy@shocksolutions.co.uk) or PM me. Or call the office - 08456 449430 and we'll do what we can to help.

 

Cheers

 

Andy Hook

Shock Solutions

[ianknight]

Surely there was training bundled with the desk, or at least a deal agreed with the supplier to provide training on the desk?

From reading some of the posts on here (BR in general) and the few experience's I've had doing show's at schools, that's very wishful thinking. The kits often put in and left to the teachers/students to work out. Only seems to be that schools with a paid-tech or has a member of staff who's clue'd up on technical theatre are the one who get the training.. why? Because the thought of getting some training usually doesn't seem to usually enter the minds of the person making the decisions!

 

Not all suppliers leave the new customer 'high and dry'...

 

Must dash - have some training to do.... :D

[Aubs Tredget]

Hello there,

 

LSC is aware of the need to support its user base here in the UK, big and small, which is why I have been newly appointed as the Business Development Manager for UK and Ireland (as Of Dec). My role is to support the distributor (White Light), the various suppliers around the country, and end users such as yourselves.

 

If you care to contact me direct (aubs@lsclighting.com) I would be more than happy to arrange the appropriate level of support, with which I am confident you will find your maXim well suited to the task.

 

Cheers,

 

Aubs T

[SHARUKH]

hey guys

 

my school recently purchased an lsc maxim lighting desk, we have used this many times for manual shows but when it comes to programing it is a nightmare. would anybody out there be willing to explain to me how to program 4 movers through this desk? if not could you perhaps suggest some software to use through a laptop and interface? thanks guys

 

Hey

The LSC Maxim is one of the best lighting desks in the world and also the easiest.There is absolutely no reason to buy anything. If you have a patpad fine.If you dont then too it's fine. All you need to do is sit down and spend a couple of hours with the manual and the desk. If you cant do that, well then mail me.

 

Essentially, read the manual and get a PATPAD if you dont have one. Trying to program Moving lights on a Maxim is like trying to drink soup with a fork,however eventhough it's not impossible,it's tiresome. Let me assure you now it will be tiresome on any console. What you will have to do is use one fader per parameter. Trust me when I say it's as bad as trying to use a computer to program Moving lights.

 

So get the Manual and read it.LSC is an extremely supportive company. They have their own forum on their site www.lsclighting.com.au.Visit it and you can download the manual if you dont have it.

Also you will need to add the moving lights profile to the patpad if you havent.

You can get all well known manufacturers templates from the site. If you cant find it or cant make one. Mail me the manual and ill lend you a hand. it takes me 10 minutes to make a profile and I can get it right back to you by mail.

 

Hope this helps

Sharukh

[StNic54]

The LSC Maxim poses more cons than pros. For anyone who has programmed on professional consoles like the GrandMa or the Hog, you'll hate the Maxim. For those who are used to PC-based programs, you'll hate the maxim even more. I've found that the people who like the maxim where I work have only programmed moving lights with it, and nothing else. It's logic feels very backwards, the training videos online assume too much, and the terminology in the manual feels strange, as if I'm hitting up another country's tech lingo. I program with a maxim right now because that is what we own. I wouldn't have chosen it - the patpad is unreliable and it doesn't allow for smooth live programming. Setting it up to program with sliders defeats the purpose of the patpad.

 

For those who are against PC programs, check out Lightfactory - it's pretty good. You gotta realize that PC-based programs are far cheaper to the lighting desks and the younger generation understands graphical users interfaces much easier. Maxim has no real GUI functions. For an educational environment, pc-based is best.

 

If you are looking for an alternative board that is inexpensive, check out the Group One Elektralite consoles - far cheaper than the big boys, but they have been designed with the end user in mind. The Maxim is the last console I would put in an educational setting - you gotta see that every three or four years, you lose your students that know the console, so you want something that is easy to train people on, and that will be useful for them on the outside. If you can afford it, get a hog or MA.

 

Before you program your lights, make sure you know exactly what each mover is capable of, exactly what each DMX channel does (like lamp on/off), and from there, learn that you patch it with function+patch, edit, select the fixture type with the patpad, and then select the channel for the fixture number. From there you get the fixture by pressing 'get' and then bump the fixture number. That's the beginning of it, but again, all this should have been laid out by the person who sold it to you in the first place (perhaps to clear stock from a shelf).